Park Metrics is a strategic industry initiative to deepen the accommodation data available to the Australian caravan park sector. It advances the current data collection to provide greater insight into daily performance, property and site categorisation, forecasting and booking pipelines, supporting stronger benchmarking for operators and better evidence for government advocacy.
Download the Park Metrics overview (PDF)
In 2009 the Australian Bureau of Statistics discontinued reporting on caravan park accommodation data. Without it, the industry struggled to undertake advocacy work across all levels of government with adequate insight, and could not measure industry performance to support development and business growth.
In response, Caravan Industry Association of Australia, supported by State Industry Associations, partnered with BDO, Newbook and RMS in 2013 to begin capturing monthly insights from caravan parks. By 2025 the sample had grown to more than 400 caravan parks providing monthly and weekly insights for industry benchmarking and advocacy.
When that project began the data and privacy landscape was markedly different. Data was captured and de-identified at a property management system level, so individual parks could not be identified. That limited the ability to categorise by park type, size and location, making it difficult to build benchmarks relevant to individual businesses or to refine advocacy for the diverse needs of different operators. Legal requirements have also changed significantly since inception, and there is growing demand for aggregated forecasting, booking pipelines and daily insights that the current data cannot provide.
Park Metrics addresses these needs with a more sophisticated collection and analysis framework: granular categorisation while maintaining privacy compliance, targeted benchmarking for different business types, and the advanced analytics the industry will require over the coming decades.
In partnership with BDO, RMS and Newbook, Caravan Industry Association of Australia has developed an API mechanism that connects directly to a caravan park’s property management system to extract the relevant property and reservation data. The mechanism does not examine or collect any consumer identification data, and is governed by contractual agreements covering privacy compliance and data security.
Full details are set out in the Accommodation Data Participant Agreement.
Aggregated data enables comprehensive sector performance analysis, giving stakeholders insight into occupancy trends, seasonal patterns and market dynamics across different accommodation types and geographical regions.
Evidence-based submissions to government use industry data to support policy development, infrastructure investment decisions and regulatory frameworks that benefit the sector’s sustainable growth and competitiveness.
Regular statistical reporting provides industry participants with benchmarking tools and performance indicators, enabling operators to assess their business performance against sector averages and identify opportunities to improve.
Predictive analytics support strategic planning through forward-looking insight into demand patterns, booking pipelines and market trends, supporting proactive business and investment decisions across the sector.
All data collected through Park Metrics is stored in an encrypted data warehouse using AWS security infrastructure. The mechanism is GDPR compliant and adheres to Australian privacy legislation.
Data will never be reported at an individual business level, so participating operators remain confidential. A business may be identified only in the sense of stating that it is part of the sample group. Minimum sample sizes are required at a geographic area level so that individual properties cannot be identified, and all reporting aggregates data across sufficient sample sizes.
Data will not be transferable to any supplier without the explicit written consent of participants, and remains under the governance of Caravan Industry Association of Australia and its approved data processing partners. Access to the data warehouse is restricted to authorised personnel, with audit trails maintained for all access and usage.
Participating caravan parks retain full control over their contribution and may withdraw at any time, with their historical data removed from future analysis and reporting on request. Full details of the privacy and security protocols are set out in the Data Participant Agreement.
Park Metrics Competitor Set Guidelines, March 2026 (PDF)
Joining Park Metrics is straightforward and designed to minimise administrative burden while maximising the value you receive from industry insights.
Complete the form at the bottom of this page to tell us you would like to take part.
We send you the Data Participant Agreement to review and sign, setting out all terms and conditions for data sharing and usage.
You give approval to your property management system provider, RMS or Newbook, to supply the required data. We provide a template to make this straightforward.
Once the sample size reaches sufficient levels you begin receiving personalised industry reports and benchmarking insights.
What does it cost to participate?
There is no cost to participate. In return for providing data you receive a tailored monthly benchmarking report once the sample size is sufficient.
Can I provide data manually or in another format?
Unfortunately not. Data must be provided through Newbook and RMS, which ensures standardisation across properties through a detailed and consistent data capture process.
Can BDO use my data for their own projects?
No. BDO is contractually obliged to handle this data as a separate project. BDO are technology leaders in the partnership with RMS and Newbook, ensuring that data capture is secured, standardised and aggregated using best practices.
Do you collect or report my customer data?
No. Contractually and legally we do not collect or review any consumer data, to ensure compliance with privacy and GDPR requirements. Consumer data is a high privacy risk dataset and we have no desire to access it.
I use another property management system provider. Can you access their platform?
At the moment we are working with Newbook and RMS, but we are open to forming new data partnerships. If you would like to discuss this, please email [email protected].
Complete the form below to register your interest in Park Metrics. We will be in touch with the Data Participant Agreement and the next steps. If you would prefer to talk it through first, contact the research team at [email protected].
